Tactics oppose unions’ mission

Unions originally had lofty goals, to protect workers rights and to improve quality of life through fair pay. The United Food & Commercial Workers want to deprive other local workers of their rights to make a fair living by asking us not to buy from them. And why? To bolster their own bargaining power. Seems to go against the basic reasons they were founded and just one more example of how modern union tactics now often harm our economy far more than they help it. – Mark Blakey, Bonita

Letters and commentary policy

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Violence part of Syria’s history

Regarding current U-T article(s) on the Syrian rebellion, I recently traveled abroad and suffered through endless international news articles on Syria’s plight and the role the West needs to play in their world.

As reading material for the trip I brought along historian Tom Holland’s book titled “Rubicon” and was simply depressed by the following quote in his book: “For decades Syria had served as a breeding ground for anarchy and violent visions of apocalypse.”

The quote was in reference to why a certain General felt the need to invade and conquer Syria. The general was Pompey, and the year was 75 B.C. – Robb Huff, Coronado

Hillary [Clinton] is appalled by Russia sending arms to Syria (June 13), which is just plain silly when you realize that the U.S. government’s military-industrial complex is the biggest arms dealer on the planet.

The superpowers are doing their favorite thing by arming opposite sides in a region of the world that now has all the factors in place for a regional war. – Connie Frankowiak, Julian

Protect pets on holiday

The Fourth of July is the worst day for dogs ending up in shelters and emergency hospitals, and unfortunately too many end up dead in the road. They experience absolute terror from hearing the loud noises of the holiday.

Please keep your dog safely indoors during this special holiday. People love their dogs and they want to include them, but taking them along on a Fourth of July outing can lead to disaster. – Trish Hausman, San Diego

40 years since Munich massacre

The IOC should remember the 11 Israeli athletes murdered during the Munich Olympics by Palestinian terrorists.

Such remembrance is fitting 40 years after the event for an organization that espouses world peace and friendly competition.

The International Olympic Committee has no grounds to continue denying this request, unless it is being pressured by anti-Israel political forces.

The IOC claims paid tribute to the memory of the athletes on several occasions; yet, the record shows that the IOC has never held an official public commemoration for this group.

The 2012 Olympics will last 24,480 minutes. Devoting one minute to the memory of the murdered Israeli athletes is not too much to ask. – Monica Simpson, La Jolla

Don’t change ultimate punishment

Catherine Thiemann (Letters, June 13) points to the suicide of longtime death row inmate James Crummel as a curious justification for doing away with capital punishment in our state, suggesting apparently that extended ennui, an inevitable result of the endless capital punishment appeals’ process, brought this vicious criminal to his end.